The City Council is in the final phase of considering and voting on the Village Center Overlay District zoning and maps. It is expected to be voted out at the City Council meeting on November 20, 2023. Here is the link for the zoom meeting - https://newtonma-gov.zoom.us/j/88259055774
Action Summary: Please consider attending the City Council meeting on Monday, November 20, 2023, 7:45pm for the final vote on the Village Center Overlay District Zoning + Maps.
Zoom Meeting link
On September 12th, the Planning Department issued a revised zoning and maps for the Village Center Overlay Districts.
Below are the links to the city of Newton website for the material.
The Zoning & Planning Committee will be considering proposed VCOD Map amendments in Waban Village Center and the surrounding neighborhood streets. These proposed VCOD Map amendments will be discussed at the Zoning & Planning Committee on
Thursday, September 7, 2023 - 7pm
Here is the zoom...
Action Summary: The Zoning & Planning Committee will be considering proposed VCOD MAP amendments for the Village Center Overlay Districts in Waban Village Center and the surrounding neighborhood streets.
These proposed VCOD map amendments will be discussed at the Zoning & Planning Committee on
Thursday, September 7, 2023 - 7pm
Here is the zoom meeting link - https://newtonma-gov.zoom.us/j/85761461913
and the discussion will be continued, if needed, to the following ZAP meeting on
Monday, September 11, 2023 - 7pm - no zoom meeting link has been posted as of yet.
The meeting link will be posted here once it becomes available. Please check back.
Please attend the meeting and as well as consider sending your comments to the ZAP Committee through their clerk (jnorton@newtonma.gov).
Since early 2022, the Zoning & Planning subcommittee of the City Council (ZAP) have been working with the City of Newton Planning Department and hired consultants (Utile and Landwise) to formulate new zoning - Village Center Overlay Districts (VCOD) throughout the city of newton, but primarily...
Action Summary: The Zoning & Planning Committee will be opening the public hearing for following docket item (#38-22) on Monday, June 26, 2023 at 7:00 pm in the City Council Chambers (Room 207).
#38-22 Request for discussion and amendments to the Zoning Ordinance and Zoning Map regarding village center districts
ZONING & PLANNING COMMITTEE requesting review, discussion and amendments relative to Chapter 30 zoning ordinances by adding a new Village Center Overlay District, consisting of four (4) district tiers, by establishing requirements for such District, and requesting amendments to the Zoning Map to include the Village Center Overlay District.
The meeting will be a hybrid meeting. To attend virtually via Zoom, please utilize the following link.
The Strong Block was unanimously approved to be designated as a Newton Local Landmark by the Newton Historical Commission at their August 24, 2023 meeting.
Update (August 14, 2023):
The Newton Historical Commission (NHC) will be considering and voting on the designation of the Strong Block as...
Action Summary: Update (August 14, 2023)
Please consider attending and offering public comment on the designation of the Strong Block as a Newton Local Landmark at the Newton Historical Commission meeting on Thursday, August 24th, 7pm.
The NHC Agenda with the zoom link for the meeting is here - link.
Please consider attending the meeting to voice your opinion on the matter. If you are not able to attend the meeting, you can email your comments to the City of Newton Chief Preservation Planner, Mollie Hutchings (mhutchings@newtonma.gov), and she will forward your email the Newton Historical Commission members.
The Waban Area Council have begun the process of applying the proposed zoning to discreet Waban parcels in Google Earth Pro. Shown below is the link to VC1/VC2 visualizations presented at our December 2022 meeting.
This webpage hosts recent 3D visualizations for the Strong Block parcel.
The Village Center Maps with the proposed new zoning districts for Newton's Village Centers are now available. There will be a virtual information and input session held for Upper Falls + Waban on Tuesday, November 29th, 5:30 - 7pm.
Here is the registration link for the virtual meeting - link....
Action Summary: Please sign up to attend the virtual meeting on Tuesday, November 29th - 5:30 - 7pm.
Registration link.
The City of Newton is considering significant changes to the zoning in our Village Centers. We are currently in the period where the zoning framework proposals for the Village Centers are to receive comments from the Newton public through a survey called the “Feedback Tool.”
As an informational...
Action Summary: UPDATE - Deadline extended to Monday, Monday October 17th, 12pm
Complete the Feedback Tool by Sunday, October 16th, 12pm - link.
If you have questions or need support, please reach out to the Planning Department Staff at zoningredesign@newtonma.gov.
If you wish to communicate with the Zoning & Planning Committee Councilors, you can email them through the ZAP Clerk, Jaclyn Norton, jnorton@newtonma.gov.
And finally, if you wish to communicate with ALL City Councilors, you can email the full City Council at citycouncil@newtonma.gov.
In November 2021, John Mordes, President of the Friends of Hemlock Gorge, Representative Ruth Balser, MassDOT staff and Maureen Reilly Meagher met to discuss pedestrian safety improvements at the intersection of Boylston Street/Quinobequin Road and the intersection of Boylston Street/Ellis Street....
Action Summary: Kindly send your comments on the proposed plan to Representative Ruth Balser at Ruth.Balser@mahouse.gov.
In 2019, a City Council working group was formed to review and revise the Landmark and Demolition Delay Ordinances. The group consisted of three Councilors from the Zoning and Planning (ZAP) Committee - Susan Albright, Deborah Crossley, Lisle Baker and one member, Andrea Kelley from the Land Use...
Action Summary: The ZAP Committee held the public hearing and will continue to discuss the proposed revisions in committee on Monday, July 28th, 7pm. Here is the ZAP Agenda with the zoom link.
There will be a public hearing of proposed revisions of the Demolition Delay Ordinance on Monday, April 12th, 7pm at the Zoning & Planning Committee.
Due to the COVID-19 state of emergency, this meeting will be virtual and can be attended by desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone by visiting this link
The meeting can also be accessed by telephone by dialing 1-646-558-8656 and entering the Meeting ID: 889 9308 6742.
How will our community address Climate Change?
WE wish to share City of Newton links to resources available to all Newton residents impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Action Summary: In order to mitigate the spreading of the Covid-19 virus it is recommended to wear a face covering or mask while out in public if not able to maintain a social distance of a minimum of 6'. Frequent hand-washing or the use of a hand sanitizer is advised especially after touching common use surfaces (i.e. door knobs or grocery cart handles).
Newton-Wellesley Hospital plans to convert its present gas-fired hot water and steam heating boiler system into a co-generation power system supplying the hospital not only with its heat and hot water, but also with the ability to generate up to 95% of its own electric power under peak use. The...
Parks and Recreation's stated policy on taking parkland for other uses:
A proposed new Zoning Code is being formulated and discussed in the Zoning and Planning subcommittee of the City Council. Learn how this will impact your property
Action Summary: Watch the presentation by City Councilor Pam Wright: Webinar copy and paste this Password: %7*hsQ%9
Proposed changes to original plan - see document archive.
In 2016, the voters of Newton approved the Ballot Question #4, legalizing the sale of recreational marijuana. The State Legislature chose to draft legislation in 2017 for the better implementation of the new law. In March of 2018, the City of Newton exercised its right of "local control" (M.G.L.,c....
The Newton Planning Department is currently accepting comments on its draft Pattern Book, an important tool that will help guide future development and inform the zoning reform process. As stated in the draft Pattern Book:
To build a zoning ordinance that respects and responds to that which is...
Wabanites have passionately expressed, as have residents from other villages, the importance or preserving many of Waban's historical landmarks such as the Library, the Strong building which hosts most of our village's businesses, Waban Hall where Starbucks currently resides, and many homes that...
September 26th 2019 WLC Sudbury Aqueduct Trail Meeting -- Joint Area Council event
Since our inception, the WAC has advocated for improvements to the Sudbury Aqueduct trail (especially at the heavily used Stanley/Canterbury Rd. aqueduct crossing). The city needs to “permit” the southern portion...
What will Waban and Newton look like 5, 10, 25, 50 years into the future? Please join us as we enter the next chapter in our future planning. Learning from previous meetings, we've made some changes that will lead to productive results:
In 2017, a series of online surveys were sent to the WAC...
Action Summary:
- Review presentations in archives on this page
- Review online survey results
- Execuitive Summary and results Submission to City
As of 2024, the WAC has put this innitiative back on the front burner under the direction of Sumukh Tendulkar, and several other community members. If you would like to be involved, please reach out to Sumukh or any other Area Councilor.
The Department of Conservation and Recreation has commenced...
Newton is currently revising the city's Zoning codes in a 3 phase process. The final Draft of Phase one is available at this link. The next phase of creating new codes is currently being proposed which among other things, will entirely remove single family housing zoning.
Befor Mayor Fuller took...
Action Summary: Read the information and let your City Representatives know how you would like to be represented.
Flooding occurs around Quinobequin and other Waban areas after rainstorms due to a variety of factors including storm system overflows. In the document Library is the presentation of newton's plan - starts on page 5.
Action Summary: Newton has begun a storm system renovation plan.
The Land Use committee of the BOA has held working sessions to discuss the Special Permit proposals for Riverside Station and the Hotel Indigo. The discussion areas for each meeting included: transportation, parking issues, engineering water and sewer infrastructure improvements, and fiscal impacts...
